General Regulations for the Degree of Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts

1. Before admission to any course leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts candidates must have
   1. satisfied the Regulations for Admission to Degree Courses as specified in Section IV of the General Regulations;
   2. passed the General Certificate of Secondary Education, or equivalent examination in Mathematics;
   3. satisfied the course requirements appertaining to the relevant degree course.

2. All candidates admitted to a course for Bachelors' degrees in the Faculty of Science shall be candidates for an honours degree and, except as provided in section 7 below, shall be registered in one of the following Honours Schools - Biochemistry and Physiology, Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Sciences, Geography, Geology, Geophysical Sciences, Oceanography, Physics.

3. 1. Each candidate will follow an approved pattern of study to qualify for the award either of a single honours degree or (where such is permitted) a combined or double honours degree.
   2. The course for a single or combined honours degree shall extend over three academic years and for a double honours degree over four academic years.
   3. With the approval of the Faculty Board a candidate may intercalate a one-year industrial placement between the second and third years of a three-year course.

4. The courses in all Honours Schools are based on a common unit structure as follows:
   1. The subjects available in the Faculty are divided into units; candidates are required to take the equivalent of at least eight units in each year to form a coherent pattern of study. Each unit is normally worth 15 credit points (for further details of the Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS) Guide and Regulations see Section IV.
   2. The Regulations for the Honours Schools of the Faculty may prescribe for each degree course certain units which candidates for that degree are required to take in each year. Candidates whose Honours School is supervised by a Board of Studies shall select units from a range approved by the Board of Studies. Apart from the prescribed units (if any) the choice of options shall be subject in all cases to the approval of a candidate's tutor and of the relevant Department or Board of Studies.
   3. Except in the case of a candidate whose Honours School is supervised by a Board of Studies the final degree assessment shall normally take into account performance in a minimum of four units (or their equivalent) selected from outside the candidate's Honours School. These will normally be taken during the first two years of study.

5. To qualify to proceed from one year of the course to the next candidates in all Honours Schools must reach a standard in the examinations deemed satisfactory by the Board of the Faculty, including practical examinations and other assessments where these are prescribed. A satisfactory standard must similarly be obtained in the final year of the course to qualify for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts.

6. The following procedure shall apply in cases where candidates do not obtain a standard in the examinations deemed satisfactory by the Board of the Faculty:
   1. A candidate who fails to satisfy the examiners in the examinations held during the first or second session will be referred in failed units. A double honours candidate may similarly be referred at the end of the third session. In the event of failure in the referral examination the candidate will, on one further occasion only, be referred in the remaining failed units to qualify for the following academic year.
   2. A candidate on a four-year course who in the third session fails to satisfy the examiners in the examinations as a whole may resit on one occasion only the failed the papers at the normal time of the examination held in the following year.
   3. A candidate who fails to satisfy the examiners in the examinations held in the final session may resit on one occasion only all the papers at the normal time of the examinations in the following year. The recommendation for the award of honours to candidates resitting the final year examinations shall be at the discretion of the Board of the Faculty.
   4. The first referral examination is normally held in the Supplementary Examination period, but with the permission of the Board may be deferred until the normal time of the examinations in the following academic year.
   5. A candidate who is re-examined at the normal time of the examinations in the following year, shall normally be required to take the papers set for that occasion regardless of any change of syllabus.

7. Notwithstanding any other regulation candidates whose performance in the second-year examinations as a whole does not justify their continuation at honours level may nevertheless be permitted by the Faculty Board to proceed into the final year of a three-year course. In such cases candidates will be required to register for an ordinary degree. A subject may be specified on the recommendation of the department or Board of Studies concerned.

8. 1. A candidate on a four-year double honours course may, in exceptional circumstances, be recommended in the fourth year for the award of the degree for which he/she had qualified at the end of the third year.
   2. Except for students registered in the Oceanography Honours School, candidates for a combined honours degree who do not satisfy the examiners in the named second subject in the third year examinations may, if appropriate, be recommended for an award in the subject forming the major component of their degree course.
   3. Candidates who have successfully met all the requirements of their course will be recommended for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Science (BSc) or Bachelor of Arts (BA). Lists of successful candidates will be issued showing (except in the case of ordinary degrees) the degree subject(s) and the classification awarded, viz first class honours, second class honours (upper division), second class honours (lower division), third class honours, and pass. The names in each list (or section thereof as appropriate) will be arranged in alphabetical order.

Note For the purposes of these regulations the School of Biological Sciences is deemed to be a Department.